The bottom line is clear: Our vital interests in Afghanistan are limited and military victory is not the key to achieving them. On the contrary, waging a lengthy counterinsurgency war in Afghanistan may well do more to aid Taliban recruiting than to dismantle the group, help spread conflict further into Pakistan, unify radical groups that might otherwise be quarreling amongst themselves, threaten the long-term health of the U.S. economy, and prevent the U.S. government from turning its full attention to other pressing problems. -- Afghanistan Study Group

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Baghdad:
#1: Health and security officials say two Iraqi soldiers and four militants have been killed in clashes in western Baghdad. Two police officers said the clashes broke out early Thursday when Iraqi army and police raided a house in the Sunni Yarmouk neighborhood. The officers say three other soldiers were wounded in the shooting that lasted for about two hours. Two other militants were also wounded and were later arrested.

#3: A U.S. convoy was targeted in the Mansour district, west-central Baghdad, on Wednesday night, but the attack was ineffective and there were no casualties or damage, the U.S. military said.

#4: A roadside bomb targeting a convoy of a police officer, killed one policeman and wounded another on Wednesday, in Baghdad's eastern al-Ghadir district, a police source said.

Three Iraqi policemen have been injured in armed attack on a police patrol east of Baghdad on Wednesday night, a security source reported on Thursday. “A group of unknown armed men have tossed a hand-grenade on a police patrol in east Baghdad’s Ghadir district on Wednesday night, wounding three of the patrol’s elements,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#6: Five Iraqi civilians have been injured in an explosive charge blast west of Baghdad on Wednesday, a security source reported. “An explosive charge, planted on the roadside in Kindi Street of west Baghdad’s Harithiya disrtrict, has blown up on Wednesday, wounding 5 civilians,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Abu Ghraib:
#1: Gunmen stormed police officers' houses in Abu Ghraib on the western outskirts of Baghdad, killing one police officer and wounding two civilians, late on Wednesday, a police source said.

Tarmiya:
#1: A car bomb targeting the house of Brigadier Tawfiq Ahmed, the police chief of Tarmiya, 25 km (15 miles) north of Baghdad, killed two of his bodyguards and wounded seven people on Wednesday, an Interior Ministry source said.

Kurdistan:
#1: Turkey’s military completed a number of successful strikes against targets belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq late Wednesday, the General Staff said in an official report released Thursday morning. "An aerial assault against 60 pre-determined targets belonging to the separatist organization was completed successfully," the report said. The report revealed that 168 additional targets were struck by "intense" artillery fire from the Turkish side of the border prior to the air strike. "Such operations will be carried out within and outside of Turkey with determination until the separatist organization is neutralized," the report said.

Kirkuk:
#1: Two roadside bombs targeting a police patrol killed one passer-by and wounded five people, including two policemen, in southern Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police sources said.

#2: A bomb placed near a local office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) wounded two Kurdish security guards in southern Kirkuk, a police source said.

#2: A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol escorting a judge's convoy killed one policeman and wounded another in eastern Mosul, a police source said.

Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Three Iraqi civilians have been injured in a sticking bomb blast east of Ramadi, the center of west Iraq’s Anbar Province on Wednesday, an Anbar security source reported. “An explosive charge, stuck under a civilian car in an old market in northwestern Ramadi, has blown up on Wednesday, wounding 3 civilians that were inside the car,” the security source reported.

#2: Three policemen have been killed and three others were injured in a booby-trapped car explosion close to a checkpoint in west Iraq’s Anbar Province on Thursday, a security source reported. “A suicide bomber has blown up a booby-trapped car early on Thursday against an Iraqi police checkpoint. In al-Baghdadi township, 180 km to the west of Ramadi, killing 2 policemen and wounding 3 others,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A roadside bomb has killed at least 20 passengers travelling on a minibus in western Afghanistan, police said. The minibus ran over a roadside bomb in Herat province, setting off a blast that killed at least 20 of the 25 passengers.

#2: In the country’s east, a suicide car bomber attacked a coalition base, killing two Afghan security guards, officials said, and the Taliban claimed responsibility. The suicide car bombing came at a provincial reconstruction team base that Americans operate near Gardez, the capital of Paktia province. Police said the bomber hid the explosives in a truck loaded with wood. The bomber sped through an outer gate, then blew up the vehicle when he came under fire at a second gate.

#3: Three policemen were killed in a fight with Afghan army officers in the southern Kandahar province, district governor Neyaz Mohammad Sarhadi said. Fourteen more were wounded in the fight, including nine civilians. The reason for the fight was not yet known, officials said, adding that police were first to open fire.

#4: Afghan security forces and ISAF troops killed four insurgents in operations in the eastern Logar province and northern Faryab province, the coalition said in a statement.

#5: Afghan police and ISAF troops killed seven insurgents in the southwestern Wardak province late on Wednesday, the provincial governor said in a statement.

Brigadier General Jeffrey Buchanan admitted the United States carried out two "unilateral" air strikes in June. Although witnesses regularly report seeing U.S. helicopters, this is the first official mention of ongoing activity not involving Iraqi security forces. Several of the alleged insurgents who were targeted were killed.